another weekend gone

Not much to report on our end. We enjoyed another somewhat lazy weekend in Des Moines. Becky went over to Emma's house to play and Al and I went on a date. That was nice. Thanks Sarah and Vicky! Larry and Donna came to visit on Saturday and we did some eating and some shopping and playing with them. It's always so nice to see them. Becky told me after they left, "I just miss Grandma and Grandpa so much." Today was sitting around watching the snow fall again, wondering how much we were going to get and eating snacks while watching the Super Bowl. That's always fun to do. And I know this year Al won't be sick all night and have to go to the emergency room and have his appendix out tomorrow. Been there, done that! Gosh, was that really two years ago? Tomorrow it's back to the normal week, I guess. At least we got to enjoy a little bit of our weekend instead of running around crazy.

new doll

Becky, like most of the rest of us, couldn't wait to spend her Christmas money. She saw a commercial on TV that had a doll that could walk and stand up on its own. She knew she had to have it. We found it for half price after Christmas. She has had so much fun playing with it. It's pretty cool what it can do. Al and I are just hoping it doesn't turn into Chucky!

Here it is walking after it stood up all by itself. Wow!

sledding

Becky and Bode managed to get a little sledding in when they were in Spencer too. This is just the perfect size hill for them!

more Christmas fun

Becky in her new roller skates

watching a movie on the couch bed

Aunt Brenda and Becky

Becky, Grandpa Monte, and Bode

Christmas with Larry's kids

We got to celebrate with some of Larry's kids and their families too. We always have so much fun visiting with them, and they love to spoil the kids too. Becky and Bode were even still getting along after a day!

Sarah and Emma

Christmas in Spencer

We got to celebrate with Brenda, Stew, and Bode on the 26th. We sure are glad they made it to Iowa safely (and back now) with all the snow we got. As you can see, Becky and Bode didn't even remember each other. Ha!

Playing games is always fun.

So is opening presents!

By this time, Becky was a pro. With every package she opened, she said, "Mom, it's exactly what I wanted!"

posing in their new pajamas

Christmas Day

We were snowed in all day in Spencer, but we managed to have fun playing games and just hanging out. Thanks Larry and Donna for all your hospitality over the holidays!

Christmas morning

Santa managed to find Becky in Spencer. Good thing she had left him a letter when she visited him at the mall so he could find her! As you can see...she got what she asked for and then some!

Opening presents from Mom and Dad. The only thing missing this Christmas morning were the cats running around playing with all the boxes and paper!

Christmas Eve

We decided to head to Spencer on Christmas Eve to beat the weather. Good thing we did. There was a lot of snow on Christmas Day and no way we would have made it to Spencer. In the tradition of Christmas Eve, Becky got to open one package. Bet you can't guess what it is!

warm pajamas to look nice for pictures on Christmas Day!

Becky showing how they will fit

annual picture in new pajamas in front of tree

Even though we were in Spencer due to the weather, Larry and Donna helped make it just as as if we had been home, down to helping leave the cookies out for Santa. Thanks for letting us come a day early and for helping us celebrate!

Christmas with Mom's family

Last night we made a quick trip down to Mt. Ayr to celebrate Christmas with my mom's family. We had a great time. We intended to only stay a couple hours, but that turned into almost four due to Grandama's stories and Christmas game fun. We give her a pretty hard time, but we sure get a lot of laughs!

Becca, Chelsie, Becky, & Melissa
Me and my aunt Janet from California. So glad she could celebrate Christmas with us this year!

The weather driving last night was just rainy headed south. We are hoping to be able to make it to Spencer safely today to beat the winter storm. Merry Christmas everyone!

Santa's Lap

We made a quick trip to the mall on Tuesday night so Becky could sit on Santa's lap. This was the first year where she really got it, was excited about it, and loved it. (Last year, he just got a high-five!) This year, she climbed up on his lap, told him exactly what she wanted, and even gave him a hug. She was so good she got two treats!

Then we had to write a letter to Santa, just in case he wasn't listening!

A trip to see Santa wouldn't be complete without a ride on the train to ring the bell.

busy weekend

We had a busy weekend filled with family and friends. We did Christmas with my brothers and families and Dad and Patti. Then we had my cousin Dustin's wedding and then another Christmas in Mt. Ayr and then Survivor finale at the Boedings. We were all pretty tired on Monday! Good thing we get a few days of relaxing in Spencer this weekend!

Al had the camera and I had the videocamera, so there aren't as many pictures of present opening as I would have taken. But here is one of Becky with her new purse and her "lips". She can't go anywhere without her "lips"!

The three of us at Dustin and Rebecca's wedding.

My whole family all dressed up from left to right:
Darin, Darla, Al, me, Becca, Becky, Patti, Kaitlyn, Dad, Dawn, & Eric. Thanks Aunt Janet for being patient enough to get a good picture!

Becky gettin jiggy on the dance floor.

snow day!

Who doesn't love a good old-fashioned snow day? We are all home today. It's scrambled eggs and ham in the morning, movies on TV, homemade pizza while watching Star Wars. Who knows what fun the afternoon will bring. Does it get any better than this? The only disappointing thing about this snow day is that it is so cold outside, we can't go play in the new fallen snow. Good thing this 14.5 inches will be around for a while so we can go play! Hope everyone has managed to stay safe in this blizzard!

Christmas cookies

We got to watch our nieces the weekend after Thanksgiving. We had so much fun. We went swimming at the Urbandale indoor pool, went to Chuck E. Cheese's, and Kaitlyn got to visit the downtown library. That was all on Saturday! On Sunday, we just took it kind of easy. We did get to make sugar cookies though. It was a lot of fun. Becky and Becca were a mess by the time we were done, and their cookies were loaded with sugar. Kaitlyn was much more creative and careful. She even lasted until the bitter end with me, while the younger girls gave up to go play.

Tthe girls in decorating action!

Christmas tree

finished tree

We put up our Christmas tree a couple weeks ago. Becky had a lot of fun this year looking at all of her ornaments and hanging them on the tree. You may notice that our tree is a little lop-sided this year because all her ornaments are hung in one area. But that's what it's supposed to look like when your kid is still little; right?

We did get manage to get her to hang a few up a little higher!

Disney on Ice

I took Becky to Disney on Ice. It was all princesses this year. It was so much fun! I was a little worried about Becky sitting through it all, but she loved it. She thought it was really neat that all the princesses came with their princes to Cinderella's wedding. Why wouldn't they?

enjoying some cotton candy at intermission

Cinderella's wedding

I of course took a lot more pictures to be able to memorialize the event in a scrapbook someday, but you know how they turn out at these things . . . not very good. At least we had fun!